Resolution stuck low

[Dazes]

When I go to change my resolution, the only choices are 640x480 and 800x600. Tried using dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg but that doesn't give me any resolution questions/options, only keyboard and such. Wondering what I can do to get this fixed. Thanks in advance.

[Bulkley]

Use xrandr or one of the GUI versions like grandr.

[Dazes]

debian:~# xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 800 x 600, maximum 800 x 600
default connected 800x600+0+0 0mm x 0mm
800x600 60.0* 56.0
640x480 60.0
400x300 60.0 56.0
320x240 60.0
debian:~# grandr
bash: grandr: command not found
debian:~#

I know for a fact it can go way higher than 800x600.

[Ahtiga Saraz]

Are you using a CRT or flat screen display? What make and model? Have you searched for a video driver written specifically for that make and model (or a similar model)? I had some similar issues, which were more or less solved when I found an adequate driver.

[Coax]

The installer probably couldn't figure out the right resolutions for the automatic configuration of xorg. (The X server)

Have a look at /etc/X11/xorg.conf and look for "ModeLine" lines under the "Monitor" section.

Here is what I've got: (I've actually got two, as I'm using two monitors)

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Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Failsafe Monitor"
    VendorName     "BenQ"
    ModelName      "BenQ FP937s"
    HorizSync       31.0 - 83.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
    Gamma           1
    ModeLine       "640x480@60" 25.0 640 656 752 800 480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "640x480@72" 31.0 640 664 704 832 480 489 491 520 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "640x480@75" 31.0 640 656 720 840 480 481 484 500 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "800x600@56" 36.0 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "800x600@72" 50.0 800 856 976 1040 600 637 643 666 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "800x600@75" 49.0 800 816 896 1056 600 601 604 625 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "800x600@60" 40.0 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "832x624@75" 57.0 832 864 928 1152 624 625 628 667 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "1024x768@75" 78.0 1024 1040 1136 1312 768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1024x768@70" 75.0 1024 1048 1184 1328 768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "1024x768@60" 65.0 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync
    ModeLine       "1152x864@75" 108.0 1152 1216 1344 1600 864 865 868 900 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1280x1024@75" 135.0 1280 1296 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1280x960@60" 102.0 1280 1360 1496 1712 960 961 964 994 -hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1280x1024@60" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1280x960@75" 129.0 1280 1368 1504 1728 960 961 964 1002 -hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1400x1050@60" 122.0 1400 1488 1640 1880 1050 1051 1054 1087 -hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1400x1050@75" 155.0 1400 1496 1648 1896 1050 1051 1054 1096 -hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1600x1200@65" 175.0 1600 1664 1856 2160 1200 1201 1204 1250 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1600x1200@60" 162.0 1600 1664 1856 2160 1200 1201 1204 1250 +hsync +vsync
    ModeLine       "1792x1344@60" 204.0 1792 1920 2120 2448 1344 1345 1348 1394 -hsync +vsync
EndSection

[fsmithred]

As root:

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Xorg -configure

will create a sample config file at /root/xorg.conf.new. If that doesn't work for you, we'll need more information. What's your graphics card

Code: Select all

lspci |grep VGA

and what's your monitor? If you can find the horizontal and vertical frequency specs for the monitor, that might be helpful.

[Dazes]

I've an old CRT NEC Multisync 90. Been looking online for its specs but it's hard to find. Video card is an NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX integrated video card. And, I'll try the other stuff as soon as I get home from work thanks.

[mdevour]

I've an old CRT NEC Multisync 90. Been looking online for its specs but it's hard to find. Video card is an NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX integrated video card. And, I'll try the other stuff as soon as I get home from work thanks.

You may be able to get the monitor to tell you its specs itself. Install the package read-edid then look at man get-edid to figure out how to use it. It installs two packages, one that queries the monitor and the other that reformats the resulting data in a human readable form.

I got the info I needed about a really ancient flat screen monitor that I've owned since before the turn of the century. So it seems like the Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) standard has been around for a while. Your NEC ought to support it.

Mike D.

[fsmithred]

Install the package read-edid.

Thank you, mdevour! That's a useful tool. I can't tell you how many times I've tried searching for monitor specifications and couldn't find the frequencies listed anywhere. I just tried "get-edid | parse-edid", and it gave me an error message along with incorrect information the first time I ran it. Ran it again, and it identified the monitor correctly and printed the right frequency ranges.

[mdevour]

Install the package read-edid.

Thank you, mdevour! That's a useful tool.

You're welcome! Believe me, I was glad to find it, too.

Mike D.

[refracta]

where or how did you discover that tool?

[mdevour]

where or how did you discover that tool?

I was working on fixing my display resolution issues with the newer xorg and needed to know what my monitor could do. It's so old there is no information online about it and I don't have a manual. I knew newer monitors had some way to identify themselves to the system, so I randomly googled stuff until I found out what EDID was and how Linux addresses plug-n-play in general. From there, it was a search of the apt database from Synaptic for anything about 'pnp' that turned up the utility.

Mike D.

[refracta]

woops didnt realize what section I was in....nevermind....

[mdevour]

...it use to be a common suggestion

Maybe it dropped from common use during the time xorg actually worked.

Mike D.

[Dazes]

parse-edid: parse-edid version 1.4.1
get-edid: get-edid version 1.4.1

Performing real mode VBE call
Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f00 bx=0x0 cx=0x0
Function supported
Call successful

VBE version 300
VBE string at 0x11110 "NVIDIA"

VBE/DDC service about to be called
Report DDC capabilities

Performing real mode VBE call
Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f15 bx=0x0 cx=0x0
Function supported
Call successful

Monitor and video card combination does not support DDC1 transfers
Monitor and video card combination supports DDC2 transfers
0 seconds per 128 byte EDID block transfer
Screen is not blanked during DDC transfer

Reading next EDID block

VBE/DDC service about to be called
Read EDID

Performing real mode VBE call
Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f15 bx=0x1 cx=0x0
Function supported
Call failed

The EDID data should not be trusted as the VBE call failed
Error: output block unchanged
parse-edid: IO error reading EDID

bleh didn't work. guess it's time to give up. tried everything.

[fsmithred]

Try running it a few times if you haven't already done that.

What's the exact model number of your monitor?

[Dazes]

N9901. made in 1999.

[Dazes]

OK, a while back I had tried Sabayon, an it had no issue with the video- everything worked perfectly.So I'm hoping maybe if I post my Sabayon xorg.conf, maybe someone can tell me what info to take from there and put in Debian? I'm really running out of options here, and just don't know enough what all needs to be there, since xorg.confs seem to vary so much from system to system.

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Section "Module"
    SubSection  "extmod"
       Option    "omit xfree86-dga"
    EndSubSection
    Load    "i2c"
    Load    "ddc"
    Load    "vbe"
    Load    "dri"
    Load    "glx"
    Load    "synaptics"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
     Option    "AllowMouseOpenFail"    "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier    "Generic Monitor"
    VertRefresh    43 - 60
    HorizSync      28 - 80
EndSection


Section "Device"

    Identifier  "SabayonVga0"
    Driver      "nvidia"
    #BusID    "PCI:01:00"
    #Option "RenderAccel" "on"
    #Option "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps"
    #Option "BusType" "PCI"
    #Option "ColorTiling" "on"
    #Option "EnablePageFlip" "on"
    Option "UseEvents" "True"
    Option "LogoPath" "/usr/share/backgrounds/sabayonlinux-nvidia.png"

EndSection
	


Section "Screen"

    Identifier    "Screen 0"
    Device        "SabayonVga0"
    Monitor       "Generic Monitor"
    Option       "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "true"

    DefaultDepth 24

    SubSection "Display"
        Depth		8
        ViewPort	0 0
        #Modes		"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection

    SubSection "Display"
        Depth           16
        ViewPort        0 0
        #Modes		"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection

    SubSection "Display"
        Depth           24
        ViewPort        0 0
        #Modes		"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection

EndSection


Section "DRI"
    Mode 0666
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier   "Main Layout"
    Screen 0    "Screen 0"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
   #Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

[fsmithred]

Here's a bare xorg.conf with the monitor frequencies from your sabayon config, and the nv driver added. Try this and see if it works. It's still possible to add specific screen resolutions, but it might not be necessary.

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Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Generic Keyboard"
	Driver		"kbd"
	Option		"XkbRules"	"xorg"
	Option		"XkbModel"	"pc104"
	Option		"XkbLayout"	"us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
	Driver		"mouse"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
        Driver       "nv"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
        VertRefresh    43 - 60
        HorizSync      28 - 80
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

[Dazes]

YES!!!! That did the trick, I now have pretty much all the resolutions my monitor supports. Thanks SO much =D